Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis is a legend and an icon–but is he a liar to boot?
When asked point-blank if he did drugs during “Squirm Night” last week on GrassRoots TV, the Sheriff replied: “Not since I’ve been Sheriff.”
Truth or dare? The Sheriff has been able to get away with saying just about anything in five terms in office, but this time around it’s different, thanks in part to the challenge of Aspen Police Community Safety Officer Rick Magnuson. Has the Sheriff done drugs? That’s still an open question after The Aspen Times printed online comments Sunday that indicate fiction may be stranger than the truth.
“What?! ‘Not since I’ve been Sheriff’?! If you were really answering the question regarding whether you have used drugs, then that’s a bald faced lie to the public, and you know it Bob!”
And this followup:
“Maybe it’s just a matter of semantics, maybe Bob just means his current term of office. If he’s denying personal illegal narcotics use the entire time he’s been the Pitkin county Sheriff, then its a flat lie. Let’s see Bob take a polygraph on the issue.”
Would Sheriff Braudis take a lie detector test to put this allegation to rest? Or perhaps a DNA test that could detect drugs still in the system? Has anyone reading this ever seen the Sheriff doing drugs? Or have you seen him in the presence of drugs while in office? If so, say so, and sign your name to the statement.
The no-drugs statement puts another issue on the table: the Sheriff’s credibility.
Love him, hate him, Sheriff Bob Braudis now has a lengthening history of not quite telling the whole truth when it comes to the “communications problem” during drug bust at Little Annie’s and Cooper Street in December 2005; his “wellness” walkabout to a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in summer 2006; his inflation of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) statistics by a factor of three; his arduous defense of education policies in the schools that simply don’t exist; his outright denial of sexual assault statistics that come from his own office; and his insistence that drugs are a downtown “core” problem even as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) busts a ring running from Aspen to Silt at a car wash at the Aspen Airport Business Center (ABC) in the midst of his Pitkin County jurisdiction.
The list is long but so is your nose when you’re lying. Had the Sheriff answered the drug question differently at Squirm Night no one would have been surprised, but it would have created havoc for his campaign and even inquiries from federal drug officials. Had he admitted to drugs as part of his stint at the Desert Canyon Treatment Center in Sedona, Arizona, this summer, then he would have faced an even longer list of questions about his personal habits and his infamous contention that drugs are a “health problem.”
At least now it’s on the record: the Sheriff says he has never done drugs while serving under oath as the Sheriff of Pitkin County. His says his only experience with illicit drugs was in Amsterdam. Let’s all hope that it’s true.
If Hunter Thompson had been busted, perhaps he would have gone to rehab, still be alive and still be doing his amazing writing. Was our Sheriff ever in a position to do just that — to bust Hunter Thompson? If so, he must be wondering about the choices he made. If not, it’s too bad someone else didn’t intervene.
Enforcing drug laws doesn’t have to be “jack boots and flack jackets.” I have a good friend who got busted once, it changed his life and was all positive. And the officers who made the best were fair and even handed. My friend has been clean and sober for years, is a successful parent etcetera. Too bad Hunter didn’t get busted.
If Hunter Thompson had been busted, perhaps he would have gone to rehab, still be alive and still be doing his amazing writing. Was our Sheriff ever in a position to do just that — to bust Hunter Thompson? If so, he must be wondering about the choices he made. If not, it’s too bad someone else didn’t intervene.
Enforcing drug laws doesn’t have to be “jack boots and flack jackets.” I have a good friend who got busted once, it changed his life and was all positive. And the officers who made the best were fair and even handed. My friend has been clean and sober for years, is a successful parent etcetera. Too bad Hunter didn’t get busted.
Good point Jeff, but one I am sure a number of people will argue with.
Should be funny to listen to these people rationalize their own use issues.
Good point Jeff, but one I am sure a number of people will argue with.
Should be funny to listen to these people rationalize their own use issues.
What teledogtwo meant: “Jeff that was one of the worst points I have ever heard rationalized, I am sure there will be tons of people who think your an idiot.
But don’t listen to any of it because we’ll just laugh it off as them having ‘issues’.”
What will this lynch-mob get when they find out Braudis has doped before?
Better yet, what legal action can you and will you take?
What teledogtwo meant: “Jeff that was one of the worst points I have ever heard rationalized, I am sure there will be tons of people who think your an idiot.
But don’t listen to any of it because we’ll just laugh it off as them having ‘issues’.”
What will this lynch-mob get when they find out Braudis has doped before?
Better yet, what legal action can you and will you take?
I think everyone is missing the point on this one. People I have talked to are taking it as a joke. Referring to Clinton’s “I did not have sexual relations with that women.” Everyone knew he did, just as everyone (well most anyone who really knows Braudis) knows that Braudis was not being truthful when he made that statement to the effect that he has not used drugs since becoming Sheriff.
I doubt that anyone is going to step up and say; hey I was with Braudis when he did this or that. Most who know him that well won’t front him out of respect if nothing else. But I think people should be asking themselves, man I know him, and if you do know him, then you have to ask yourself, does he really think that little of us (the people of Pitkin County) that he would make that statement knowing what we know.
I am no fan of Rick’s, but I also don’t like to be lied to by anyone, especially an elected official. It’s a sad day when deceit and mistrust starts creeping into our town….a very sad day.
I think everyone is missing the point on this one. People I have talked to are taking it as a joke. Referring to Clinton’s “I did not have sexual relations with that women.” Everyone knew he did, just as everyone (well most anyone who really knows Braudis) knows that Braudis was not being truthful when he made that statement to the effect that he has not used drugs since becoming Sheriff.
I doubt that anyone is going to step up and say; hey I was with Braudis when he did this or that. Most who know him that well won’t front him out of respect if nothing else. But I think people should be asking themselves, man I know him, and if you do know him, then you have to ask yourself, does he really think that little of us (the people of Pitkin County) that he would make that statement knowing what we know.
I am no fan of Rick’s, but I also don’t like to be lied to by anyone, especially an elected official. It’s a sad day when deceit and mistrust starts creeping into our town….a very sad day.
[If Hunter Thompson had been busted, perhaps he would have gone to rehab, still be alive and still be doing his amazing writing.]
Nah.
I saw Thompson at a “Town Hall Meeting” at the Wheeler Opera House in 1988. I admire Thompson’s writings–I used excerpts from “Fear and Loathing” to teach CSU Freshmen Comp students how to write…
Thompson showed up at the Wheeler ostensibly to pimp “Generation of Swine” and to comment on the upcoming Bush/Dukakis presidential race.
I don’t know what was in his glass, but Thompson started the night in a mumble and ended it in a state of absolute incoherence.
You can say a lot of things, but you cannot claim that had HST been busted, he’d be alive today, spending Friday nights in a 12 step meeting and churning out cogent prose.
That’s naive.
Cheers,
[If Hunter Thompson had been busted, perhaps he would have gone to rehab, still be alive and still be doing his amazing writing.]
Nah.
I saw Thompson at a “Town Hall Meeting” at the Wheeler Opera House in 1988. I admire Thompson’s writings–I used excerpts from “Fear and Loathing” to teach CSU Freshmen Comp students how to write…
Thompson showed up at the Wheeler ostensibly to pimp “Generation of Swine” and to comment on the upcoming Bush/Dukakis presidential race.
I don’t know what was in his glass, but Thompson started the night in a mumble and ended it in a state of absolute incoherence.
You can say a lot of things, but you cannot claim that had HST been busted, he’d be alive today, spending Friday nights in a 12 step meeting and churning out cogent prose.
That’s naive.
Cheers,
Even the most messed up human beings can change and heal. Even the ones that drink and mumble. I’m sorry Hunter didn’t have a chance to try.
Even the most messed up human beings can change and heal. Even the ones that drink and mumble. I’m sorry Hunter didn’t have a chance to try.
The first thought I had when I read coverage of the Squirm Night was that both candidates were probably lying. My guess (no, I don’t have proof, nor do I really care) is that both have broken “the law” with regard to personal consumption of controlled substances. Drug and alcohol rehab facility selected for non-substance abuse “wellness”? I’m a forty-year-old, and I only used drugs when I was in the Netherlands a couple years ago?
And to think that the focus of the debate on the election of these two candidates is stricter enforcement of the laws–you couldn’t dream up better fiction if you tried.
The first thought I had when I read coverage of the Squirm Night was that both candidates were probably lying. My guess (no, I don’t have proof, nor do I really care) is that both have broken “the law” with regard to personal consumption of controlled substances. Drug and alcohol rehab facility selected for non-substance abuse “wellness”? I’m a forty-year-old, and I only used drugs when I was in the Netherlands a couple years ago?
And to think that the focus of the debate on the election of these two candidates is stricter enforcement of the laws–you couldn’t dream up better fiction if you tried.
“The first thought I had when I read coverage of the Squirm Night was that both candidates were probably lying…I’m a forty-year-old, and I only used drugs when I was in the Netherlands a couple years ago?”
I agree that delving into the personal realms of EITHER candidate is taking away from the true issues of the campaign, but to dismiss this issue is that “both candidates were probably lying” is completely off base.
Rick’s problem is that he’s been TOO honest. His “my life is an open book” policy led to full disclosure on his past and actions–including telling the papers in detail about calling Braudis’ treatment center (remember…this was not ‘scooped’ to the paper, but told to the papers by Rick, which he then got skewered on); his art (even posting his video on youtube); his actions as CSO.
I’v known Rick for 7 years, and I’d swear to you that everything he said in the debate is the truth. And Magnuson would in a heartbeat take a lie detector test to back his statement up.
Not that I want an issue made of Braudis’ past–I think the performance of the current office is what this election needs to be about–but don’t lump Magnuson in the “dishonest” theme. If anything, he’s been honest to a fault, his past has been scrutinized an order of magnitude more than Braudis’, and his honesty (e.g., telling the papers in detail he had Braudis call them to disclose where he was) has led to a lot of scrutiny.
“The first thought I had when I read coverage of the Squirm Night was that both candidates were probably lying…I’m a forty-year-old, and I only used drugs when I was in the Netherlands a couple years ago?”
I agree that delving into the personal realms of EITHER candidate is taking away from the true issues of the campaign, but to dismiss this issue is that “both candidates were probably lying” is completely off base.
Rick’s problem is that he’s been TOO honest. His “my life is an open book” policy led to full disclosure on his past and actions–including telling the papers in detail about calling Braudis’ treatment center (remember…this was not ‘scooped’ to the paper, but told to the papers by Rick, which he then got skewered on); his art (even posting his video on youtube); his actions as CSO.
I’v known Rick for 7 years, and I’d swear to you that everything he said in the debate is the truth. And Magnuson would in a heartbeat take a lie detector test to back his statement up.
Not that I want an issue made of Braudis’ past–I think the performance of the current office is what this election needs to be about–but don’t lump Magnuson in the “dishonest” theme. If anything, he’s been honest to a fault, his past has been scrutinized an order of magnitude more than Braudis’, and his honesty (e.g., telling the papers in detail he had Braudis call them to disclose where he was) has led to a lot of scrutiny.
[And to think that the focus of the debate on the election of these two candidates is stricter enforcement of the laws--you couldn't dream up better fiction if you tried.]
Are the days of Chris Cassatt cartoons and Thomas Benton silk screens gone?
Yes. I think they are.
On the other hand, where, besides Aspen, can you place a hypertensive hippie and a masturbating Swede in a Sherriff’s race in which the central question is a serious debate about drug law enforcement?
Surely in this ballot question there is some harmony with the past…
Cheers,
[And to think that the focus of the debate on the election of these two candidates is stricter enforcement of the laws--you couldn't dream up better fiction if you tried.]
Are the days of Chris Cassatt cartoons and Thomas Benton silk screens gone?
Yes. I think they are.
On the other hand, where, besides Aspen, can you place a hypertensive hippie and a masturbating Swede in a Sherriff’s race in which the central question is a serious debate about drug law enforcement?
Surely in this ballot question there is some harmony with the past…
Cheers,
Why does this whole thing bring back a scene from Caddy Shack…
Ty – You do drugs Danny?
Danny – Every day.
Ty – Good, then what’s your problem?
Danny – I don’t know.
Ty – A flute without holes, is not a flute. A donut without a hole, is a Danish.
nananananananananana……
Why does this whole thing bring back a scene from Caddy Shack…
Ty – You do drugs Danny?
Danny – Every day.
Ty – Good, then what’s your problem?
Danny – I don’t know.
Ty – A flute without holes, is not a flute. A donut without a hole, is a Danish.
nananananananananana……
…and playing with a flute in a hole is a Swede?
buhbuhbuhbuhbuhbuh
Not trying to single your guy out, Michael B. As you might expect, I don’t care if either of the candidates have used drugs–judge them on their abilities and vision.
My point is that both candidates have positioned themselves to be criticized for the asymmetry between their stated platforms and their personal actions. And therein lies the entertainment.
…and playing with a flute in a hole is a Swede?
buhbuhbuhbuhbuhbuh
Not trying to single your guy out, Michael B. As you might expect, I don’t care if either of the candidates have used drugs–judge them on their abilities and vision.
My point is that both candidates have positioned themselves to be criticized for the asymmetry between their stated platforms and their personal actions. And therein lies the entertainment.
OK…I can’t help it…. (More from Caddy Shack)
Dr. Beeper – I thought you would be the man to beat this year.
Ty – I guess you’ll just have to keep beating yourself.
Now if that had come out on Grass Roots, it would have been a slam dunk….
OK…I can’t help it…. (More from Caddy Shack)
Dr. Beeper – I thought you would be the man to beat this year.
Ty – I guess you’ll just have to keep beating yourself.
Now if that had come out on Grass Roots, it would have been a slam dunk….